Earlier this month, the collection "We will share everything fairly. Investigations into interoperability" was presented to the chairman of the Standardisation Forum, Nico Westpalm van Hoorn. Over 400 pages, 34 authors — professors, members of parliament, administrators, an ambassador, advisers and experts — give their views on interoperability in e-government. Among them are Paul Oude Luttighuis, Wijnand Derks and Lex Heerink of the Telematica Instituut.

Opportunities and challenges
Every day, the media reports on problems with electronic patient files, the modernisation of the municipal personal records database or electronic tax returns. The question of how to exchange data in a reliable and comprehensible manner in cases like these – in other words, the demand for interoperability – is a recurring theme.

The collection, put together by Sander Zwienink and Pieter Wisse, makes clear that there are many challenges ahead. The book shows that interoperability is an important condition for the success of the modern information society.

A many-headed monster
In the chapter “Interoperability in a nutshell” Paul Oude Luttighuis, Wijnand Derks and Lex Heerink introduce the reader to the many heads of the interoperability monster, visualised in a narrative poster which was previously published as an animation.  

If you don’t push, it won’t roll!
In an earlier chapter, Arre Zuurmond and Paul Oude Luttighuis called for a bigger effort from the government in establishing clear agreements for information exchange between government agencies. Without such agreements, an adequate response to crisis situations, for example, is not a realistic goal.

Want one?
Copies of the book may be requested from forumstandaardisa...@gbo.overheid.nl. "We will share everything fairly" is published by GBO.Overheid/Standardisation Forum.